11. Operations & Projects¶

This chapter covers the work between a signed contract and a delivered result. Projects, processes, meetings, suppliers, and fulfilment all live here. The common thread is status and checkpoints: every workflow in this module has a defined lifecycle, and BOB surfaces blockers before they become problems.

11.1 Project Structure¶

A project in BOB belongs to a client or to a company division. It lives at {client.projects} for client work, or {company.root}/{division}/YYYY-MM-{name}/ for internal initiatives.

Every project has a project_id, a project title, and a status field. The status lifecycle is:

Status	Meaning
`planning`	Charter approved; schedule and WBS in progress
`active`	Delivery underway
`on-hold`	Paused; reason documented in the project note
`completed`	All deliverables accepted; closure report filed
`archived`	Closed project retained for reference

PM artifacts (charter, WBS, schedule, risk register, RACI, status reports, closure report) all carry their parent project_id, which lets BOB pull the full project picture at any time.

11.2 Project Management Skills by Phase¶

BOB's PM skills follow the standard project lifecycle. The recommended entry point for any new project is project-context, which establishes the delivery approach and tailoring decisions and then chains into project-charter automatically.

Initiate¶

Skill	When to use	Output
`project-context`	First step on any new project — sets up PMBOK 7 tailoring and delivery approach	Context record + charter hand-off
`project-charter`	Formalise scope, objectives, stakeholders, milestones, and budget	Charter document

Run project-context before anything else. It prevents you from applying a heavyweight sequential approach to a two-week internal job, and vice versa.

Plan¶

Skill	When to use	Output
`project-wbs`	Decompose scope into work packages with effort estimates	WBS document + optional canvas
`project-schedule`	Build a CPM schedule with PERT estimates	SVG Gantt chart + JSON schedule
`project-risk`	Identify and quantify risks with Monte Carlo simulation	Risk register + probability chart
`project-raci`	Assign responsibilities across tasks and team roles	RACI matrix (activity-based and role-based views)
`project-stakeholder`	Build the formal stakeholder register and power-interest grid	Stakeholder register + SVG grid

These skills read each other's outputs. project-schedule will reference the WBS work packages; project-raci will reference the schedule tasks. Run them in the order shown.

Execute¶

During delivery, the primary tool is project-status. Run it weekly or before any steering committee meeting.

What you do: tell BOB to generate a status report for the project.

What BOB does: reads the project's PM artifacts, milestones, risk register, and any recent meeting notes; derives a RAG (red/amber/green) health rating; flags overdue items and budget variances.

Output: an executive status report saved to the project folder.

The project-evm skill adds earned value metrics — CPI, SPI, cost variance — as an SVG trend chart if you have actual cost and progress data recorded.

For scope changes, project-change-control maintains a change log and routes approvals. Do not adjust the WBS or schedule directly without logging a change request first.

Close¶

Skill	When to use	Output
`project-closure`	All deliverables accepted	Closure report: deliverable acceptance, lessons learned, performance summary, outstanding handoffs

The closure report must be filed before a project moves to completed status. You cannot close a project with draft deliverables outstanding — the vault validator will block it.

11.3 Meeting Intelligence¶

Meetings generate decisions and actions. Without a system, both disappear into inboxes.

meeting-intelligence analyses meeting transcripts, notes, or recording-derived text and extracts:

Decisions taken (with owner and date)
Action items (owner, due date, status)
Blockers and open questions
Sentiment and execution-risk signals
A follow-up email draft for the attendees

Workflow¶

Step	What you do	What BOB does	Output
1. Provide notes	Paste or link the meeting notes or transcript	Reads and structures the content	—
2. Review extractions	Check decisions and actions for accuracy	Flags ambiguous ownership or missing due dates	Structured extraction
3. Save	Confirm the output	Saves to the meeting note in the relevant `20-MEETINGS/` folder	Meeting note with decisions and action items
4. Send summary	Approve the email draft	Returns draft for review	Email draft

Decisions extracted by meeting-intelligence can be promoted to the decision log at {company.decisions}. Action items become tasks in {output.tasks}. BOB will suggest both; you decide which to keep.

Good practice: run meeting-intelligence within 24 hours of the meeting, while context is fresh and ownership is still clear.

11.4 Processes and Improvement¶

Process definitions and runs¶

A process definition describes how repeating work flows through your business — inputs, activities, responsible skills, and completion conditions. Definitions live in {company.processes}/definitions/. Each time a process runs, it creates a process run record in {company.runs} with its own case_id and event log.

Process definitions connect to value chains. When you ask BOB to run a process, it follows the definition: calls the skills in sequence, applies any policies, and halts at approval gates for your sign-off.

Continuous improvement¶

process-kaizen runs an AI-powered Kaizen analysis on a process that has already been mapped. It reads the existing process note, identifies waste (muda), produces a 5S checklist, and sets up a PDCA cycle. This skill is a downstream consumer — it does not re-map the process from scratch. You need a process note in place before invoking it.

root-cause-analysis uses a 5-Whys framework and fishbone diagrams to diagnose recurring failures or customer issues. Use it when the same problem appears more than twice, or when a single incident has significant business impact.

Skill	Input required	Output
`process-kaizen`	Existing `type: process` note	Waste audit, PDCA cycle, improvement suggestions
`root-cause-analysis`	Problem description or issue record	Root cause tree, contributing factors, corrective actions

11.5 Suppliers and Procurement¶

Supplier records¶

Suppliers live in {company.suppliers}. Each supplier record carries supplier_id, supplier_name, spend category, default payment terms, and annual contract value. Keeping these current is important — the AP skills pull payment terms directly from the supplier record.

For how supplier records connect to purchase orders and invoices, see chapter 10, Finance & Administration.

Sourcing¶

strategic-sourcing handles new supplier selection: spend analysis, Kraljic matrix positioning, RFI/RFP/RFQ templates, total cost of ownership calculations, and BATNA negotiation preparation. Use it when you are evaluating a new vendor category or renegotiating a significant contract.

Supplier performance¶

supplier-feedback tracks ongoing supplier performance and review history. It is the longitudinal partner to strategic-sourcing: after you have selected a supplier, supplier-feedback captures delivery scores, quality ratings, and corrective action history over time.

A typical quarterly cycle:

Run supplier-feedback — review performance against agreed KPIs
If scores are below threshold, run root-cause-analysis on the failure pattern
If the contract is up for renewal, return to strategic-sourcing for the renegotiation

Procurement within projects¶

For project-specific procurement — make-or-buy decisions, vendor evaluation, contract type selection — use project-procurement. It produces a procurement management plan tied to the project and its WBS.

11.6 Order Fulfilment and Delivery¶

For product businesses, BOB supports the order-to-confirmation chain.

Skill	Stage	What it does
`order-management`	Order received	Tracks the order lifecycle from receipt to fulfilment; surfaces fulfilment bottlenecks and backlog prioritisation
`logistics-shipping`	Dispatch	Analyses shipment performance, carrier options, and delivery routes
`delivery-confirmation`	Confirm	Generates proof-of-delivery documents and manages customer sign-off

These skills work from data you provide — ERP exports, CSV files, or direct ERP queries if an integration is configured. They produce reports and documents; physical logistics remain your responsibility.

The order-to-fulfill playbook chains all three skills into a single repeatable flow. Trigger it when an order is confirmed and work your way through the checkpoints.

11.7 Good Practices¶

Start every project with project-context. The tailoring step prevents over-engineering small jobs and under-planning complex ones.
Run project-status before steering meetings, not after. Preparing the report forces a look at the data; findings in the room are already late.
Log change requests before editing plans. A change request creates a decision trail. Direct edits to the schedule or WBS create version confusion.
Run meeting-intelligence on every significant meeting. Undocumented decisions are the most common source of rework and missed handoffs.
Keep supplier records current. Stale payment terms and contact details create AP delays and missed escalation windows.
Use process-kaizen after at least one full process run. Without run data, the waste analysis is speculative. Let the process run, then improve it.